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Hi, can anyone advise me on the following issue i have going on in my life at the moment.
I am two years divorced with two daughters aged 2 and 3. i have had a contact order set in place for a year now but as my knowledge at the time of court was so vague about contact orders it seems the wording has let my girls down and holds no value.
I have recently refused my ex-wife with valid reasons permission to take the girls abroad. she totally ignored me and took them anyway. I rang the police about the matter and they say that as it is not set into the contact order stating i have to give permission, they can not do anything about it.
My ex constantly disrupts the girls contact order with holidays and it is becoming more and more frustrating as the contact order is written completely wrong.
Can anybody offer some advice on this, i would be most grateful
A very desperate father
hi and welcome
Can you confirm if there is a residence order in place for your daughter? Also, can you confirm that you don't currently have a solicitor acting for you (in case was need to ask the CCLC for an opinion)?
Without being too specific, what does the contact order say at the moment?
If you have a contact order that doesn't stipulate otherwise, then a resident parent with a residence order can take the child abroad for up to a month without the consent of the other parent. If the resident parent wanted to go away for longer than one month they would require written consent of all people with parental responsibility.
If the resident parent does not have a residence order then they do not require positive agreement but should inform the non-resident parent of the intentions and consider any reasonable objections. If a non-resident parent wishes to prevent a resident parent taking a child on holiday then he or she will need to make an application for a Prohibited Steps Order under S8 Children Act 1989.
A court wouldn't grant a PSO unless there was a welfare issue or risk of abduction.
Alternatively if a resident parent is refusing to allow a non-resident parent to take a child on holiday then the non-resident parent can seek a Specific Issue Order from the court under S8 Children Act 1989.
She should have the courtesy to ask / inform you and provide you with information of when and where they are going, but I doubt if she didnt there would be any substantial repercussions.
I would think that this may be something that could be dealt with through mediation?
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